*

FAA's 2018 advisory recommended inspections, did not order

them

*

South Korea prepares to order its airlines to check

switches

*

Several airlines making precautionary checks, others have

been

doing so since 2018

*

Air India finds no issues in fuel switch checks yet,

source says

*

Japan Airlines ( JPNRF ) monitoring investigation into incident

(This July 14 story was updated July 15 to include comments

from Singapore Airlines, ANA, JAL, Qantas and Korean Air)

By Abhijith Ganapavaram and Lisa Barrington

NEW DELHI, July 14 (Reuters) - India on Monday ordered

its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing ( BA ) models,

while South Korea said it would order a similar measure, as

scrutiny intensified of fuel switch locks at the centre of an

investigation into a deadly Air India crash.

The precautionary moves by India, South Korea and some

airlines in other countries came despite the planemaker and the

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration telling airlines and

regulators in recent days that the fuel switch locks on Boeing ( BA )

jets are safe.

The locks have come under scrutiny following last month's

crash of an Air India jet, which killed 260 people.

A preliminary report found that the switches had almost

simultaneously flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after

takeoff. One pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder

asking the other why he cut off the fuel. "The other pilot

responded that he did not do so," the report said.

The report noted a 2018 advisory from the U.S. Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA), which recommended, but did not

mandate, operators of several Boeing ( BA ) models including the 787 to

inspect the locking feature of fuel cutoff switches to ensure

they could not be moved accidentally.

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it had

issued an order to investigate locks on several Boeing ( BA ) models

including 787s and 737s, after several Indian and international

airlines began making their own inspections of fuel switches.

The regulator oversees the world's third-largest and

fastest-growing aviation market. Boeing ( BA ) planes are used by three

of the country's four largest airlines.

PRECAUTIONARY CHECKS

Some airlines around the world told Reuters they had been

checking relevant switches since 2018 in accordance with the FAA

advisory, including Australia's Qantas Airways ( QUBSF ) and

Japan's ANA.

Others said they had been making additional or new checks

since the release of the preliminary report into the Air India

crash.

Singapore Airlines said on Tuesday it had carried

out and completed precautionary checks on the fuel switches of

its 787 fleet, including planes used by its low-cost subsidiary

Scoot.

A spokesperson for the South Korean transport ministry said

checks there would be in line with the 2018 advisory from the

FAA, but did not give a timeline for them.

Flag carrier Korean Air Lines said on Tuesday it

had proactively begun inspecting fuel control switches and would

implement any additional requirements the transport ministry may

have.

Boeing ( BA ) referred Reuters' questions to the FAA, which did not

respond to a request for comment. Boeing ( BA ) shares closed 1.6%

higher on Monday after there were no recommended actions in the

report aimed at operators of 787 jets or the GE engines.

Japan Airlines ( JPNRF ) said it was conducting

inspections, but had also been doing so since the 2018 advisory

came out.

"Any issues detected were repaired on the ground, and

therefore did not occur during flight," JAL said in a statement

on Tuesday.

Over the weekend, Air India Group started checking the

locking mechanism on the fuel switches of its 787 and 737 fleets

and has discovered no problems yet, a source familiar with the

matter told Reuters on Monday.

About half the group's 787s have been inspected and nearly

all its 737s, the source added, speaking on condition of

anonymity. Inspections were set to be completed in the next day

or two.

The Air India crash preliminary report said the airline had

not carried out the FAA's suggested inspections as the FAA's

2018 advisory was not a mandate.

But it also said maintenance records showed that the

throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was

replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash.

In an internal memo on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson

said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance

faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out.